Vehicle door latch



Aug. 24, 1954 B. J. CRAIG VEHICLE DOOR LATCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledSept. 18, 1950 INVENTOR.

Aug. 24, 1954 B. J. CRAIG VEHICLE DOOR LATCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledSept. 18. 1950 g 36 IO 37 a novel push button operated Patented Aug. 24,1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VEHICLE DOOR LATCH Burnie J. Craig, LosAngeles, Calif.

Application September 18, 1950, Serial No. 185,411

11 Claims.

This invention relates to a vehicle door latch.

The general object of the invention is to pro vide an improved vehicledoor latch including novel lock means for controlling operation of thelatch on a door of an automotive vehicle.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a door.lockingsystem including novel means for unlocking and/or looking aplurality of the doors of an automotive vehicle and wherein speedresponsive means controls the operation of the release means for thelatches which hold the doors closed. Another object of the invention isto provide door latching means including a novel lock means which isoperable in a novel manner to unlock the latch.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel door latch handleassembly.

"Another object of the invention is to provide a novel combinedkey-controlled and dial actuated tumbler controlled lock assembly.

Another object of-the invention is to provide latch release member andlatch lock. l Another object of the invention is to provide a novel pushbutton latch release member including a novel keyless actuated unlockingmember.

A further object of the invention is to provide a latch lockingmeanswherein a push button ries push button means for operating a door latchto release position and wherein a plurality of in-.

dependently operated means is carried by the handle for unlocking thelatch to render the push button means operative to open the door.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door latch includinglatch releasing means and locking means operable when the latch is inlocked position and the door is shut to cause the latch to be unlockedor, by manipulation of a manual member, to remain locked, depending uponthe position of the manual member when the door is closed and wherein akeyless lock is employed to unlock the latch.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vehicle door latchincluding a novel locking member which is movable from locked tounlocked positions and which includes a novel latch releasing memberwhich is controlled by novel lock means and is movable to release thedoor latch when the locking member is in one position and isinefi'ective to release the latch when moved by the locking member whichis in another position. 1

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation showing an automotive vehicleequipped with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, sectional view taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3, Fig. 2; r

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front view showing the door pillar and strike; a

Fig. 5 is an enlarged central sectional view showing the latch operatingparts;

Fig. 6 is a section takenon line 6--B, Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 1-l,Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a central sectional view showing the parts in a differentposition from that shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing the parts in still anotherposition;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary elevation corresponding to line |0|0, Fig. 3,showing the push button operated actuating member;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing the coincidental locking and speedcontrolled mechanism;

Fig. 12 is a front end view of the pillar lock barrel, and

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 5, showing a modification.

Referring to the drawing by reference characters, the invention isshownas embodied in door latches arranged upon doors A of a multi-doorvehicle B.

. As shown, each latch includes a base plate I0, having a flange l Ithereon which is provided with a slot 12 through which a pivoted bolt 13protrudes. The bolt I3 is shown as pivotally mounted on the base plateat M and at its outer end supports a strike engaging roller 15.

The latches in the present disclosure are of the type shown inapplicants copending application Serial No. 103,431, filed July7, 1949,now Patent No. 2,659,230, issued November 1'7, 1953.

The protruding roller 15 moves in an inclined slot E6 in a strike memberI1, arranged upon the car pillar [8. The slot 16 is inclined so that aseach door closes its associated roller moves from one end of the slot l6towards the other end to fully engaged position behind the portion 19 of3 the slot. To hold the bolt in this position and thereby hold the doorclosed, a catch member 2! is pivotally supported at El upon the base 40,and

includes notched portions 22 and 23.

The bolt it includes an outwardly directed pin 24% which rests upon thenotched portion 22 when the bolt is inthe disengaged position. When thebolt is moved to safety latched position, the pin engages the notch 23and when the bolt is raised to fully engaged position (see Fig. 3), thebolt engages the notched portion 25, just above the notch 23. When soengaged the bolt cannot move downwardly to disengaged position until thecatch member 2% is swung about its pivot 2i and is released, as will behereinafter described. A tongue 2.5 on the base plate limits movement ofthe catch member in one direction.

One end of a spring 26, arranged about the pivot pin It, engages a pin27 on the catch 2i and urges the catch 29 to bolt holding position whilethe other end of the spring 2% engages a pin 28 on the bolt It tonormally urge the bolt downwardly to disengaged position.

The bolt may be released by means of an inside remote control doorhandle 2Q which includes an arm 36, disposed inside the door and adaptedto be rocked by the handle 253. The arm 3%.) is connected to one end ofa rod 3|, the other end of the rod fitting in a hole 32 in a rock arm553 which is mounted on the pivot 2|. The lower end of the rock armengages an actuating pin t l mounted on a latch releasing member 35. Therock arm will thus move the pin 34 and the pin will move the catch 20,thus permitting the spring 26 to move the latch bolt to disengagedposition as the door is opened.

In order to provide means exterior of the vehicle for releasing thecatch members 28 and also to provide means for locking the release meansagainst unwarranted operation, a carriage member 36 is provided for eachlatch releasing arm. Each carriage member is pivoted on a pivot 3? onthe base it. One end of the carriage member 3b is raised as at 35 and asnap-over spring 36 is arranged between this raised portion 36 and thebase Ill to hold the carriage member in either one of its two positions.Tongues 35', struck from the base it, limit movement of the carriagemember 36.

The carriage member 35 includes a projecting end portion 33 whichextends through a slot 38 in the flange H. The end of the portion 38 isformed into a cylindrical shape to support a roller 38".

The carriage member is similar in some respects in'construction andoperation to the carriage member shown in Fig. 32 of the applicantsprior Patent No. 2,204,208, granted June 11, 1940.

Guide tongues 39 on the carriage member 36 slidably support the latchrelease member 35 previously mentioned. When the carriage member is inthe position shown inFig. 3 and the release member 35 is moved, the pin34 will engage the tongue as on the catch 28 to move the catch. A tongueat on the carriage member limits movement of the release member in onedirection.

When the carriage member 36 is swung about its pivot 3?, the pin 36 willbe disposed opposite a slot 46 in the catch 2i] so that when the releasemember 35 moves to releasing position, the pin 34 will move into theslot ill without moving the catch member 20. The latch just described isdisclosed in the applicants patent No. 2,659,230 mentioned above.

The carriage member 36 includes an elongated 4 slot at (see Fig. 8),which is aligned with a slot in the base l6, and the latch releasingmember at is also provided with a slot #8, aligned with the slots 36 andM. The slots 6'5, t? and 58 receive one end portion of a bell crankreleasing arm 49, which may be operated from the exterior of the door,as will be described.

The released arm 49 is shown as pivoted at 50 to ears 5i struck from thebase Ill. One portion of the bell .crank 39 engages one end wall of theslot 58. The other portion 52 of the bell crank is provided with a slot52*. An actuating member 53 is carried by an outside actuator indicatedgenerally at 54. The member 53 carries an integral tongue 53 whichengages the slotted portion 52 of the bell crank to rock the latter. Theoutside actuator is similar in some respects to the handle assemblydisclosed in applicants prior patent 2,45%),3'72 granted September 28,1948, and is also similar to the outside actuator disclosed inapplicants Patent No. 2,659,230, mentioned above.

As shown, the outside actuator 56 includes a body 55 which has a handlegrip member 56 thereon. The body 55 may be held in place by means of aslip plate SW'which engages in notches 5i in the body.

The body 55 has a bore 59 and at the outer end has an enlarged bore 66.At the inner end the body 55 is open to receive a closure M which isheld in place against rotation by a tight fit and by a split ring 62.The closure 6i supports a sleeve 533 which has spaced tongues Gd thereonwhich pass through slots in the closure BI and are bent over to hold thesleeve in place.

About the sleeve 63 I arrange a dial member which has a finger engaginghead portion 67 and a tubular body 68. The dial member rotates about thesleeve 63 and in the bore Eli and is slidable in the bore 633. The dialmember is also slidable upon the sleeve 63 and at its inner end is cutaway as at 59 to provide an annular recess in which a spring 10 isarranged. The spring 10 bears against the closure GI and normally urgesthe dial member outwardly.

The closure El includes an inwardly directed flange t l which is fittedin the enlarged portion 69 of the body 55.

Upon the dial member I arrange a series of tumblers, shown as three innumber, H, 12 and '33, which are free to rotate about the dial memberand are provided with the usual tumbler pins 14. Tumbler locks of thistype are common and well known and a further description thereof isbelieved unnecessary. The tumbler '13 is provided with a slot whichreceives a key it on the dial body (58 and the construction is such thatafter the tumblers have been set and as the dial moves inwardly,tensioning the spring Hi, the key it will move in the slot F5.

The tumblers ll, l2 and '13 are shown as spaced apart by collars H whichare annular and integral with the tumblers. In operating the dial thekey 16 will cause the tumbler 73 to first rotate, whereupon the pins onthis tumbler will rotate the tumbler l2 and the pins of tumbler [2 willrotate the tumbler H.

The dial member body 68 is provided with a plurality of ears 8%, withone ear for each of the tumblers ll, 12 and T3, and the tumblers areprovided with notches or gates 8|, which when the tumblers are correctlyaligned each receives a companion ear 80. The construction is such thatwhen the head portion 61 of the dial member 66 is rotated the tumblers,when the correct positioning has taken place, will be aligned, with eachof the slots 8I aligned with its companion ear 80, whereupon the dialhead 61 may be pushed inwardly until the end 82 of the dial body engagesthe closure 6|. I

The sleeve 63 slida'blyreceives a lock barrel 85. This lock barrelincludes a body 86. and a push button end 81. The push button endextends through a hole 83 in the dial head 67. The details of the keylock form no part of the present inven tion as such locks are common andin well known use. I

Theconstruction issuch that when a key 88 is inserted in the barrel 8!and rotated, suitable pins (not shown) will be aligned, permitting thekey to turn the push member relative to the lock barrelin eitherdirection from a normal position. The turning of the key rotates a headmember 89 on the push member and rotates a head member 89 on the pushmember and rotates the releasing arm 53 which is carried by the headmember and was previously mentioned. The releasing arm 53 and tongue 53'swing only through asmall angle when moved and at all times contact thebell crank arm 52 so that they may rock the latter. Shoulders 9| and 32on the barrel 85 and the sleeve 63 limit outer movement of the lockbarrel. A spring 93 normally urges the lock barrel outwardly.

In order to prevent rotation between the sleeve 63 and the barrel 8'5aclutchdevice, which includes a ball I00, is provided. This clutch ballis arranged in a slot IOI in the. sleeve 63 and the ball in normalposition also is engaged in a substantially hemispherical seat I02 inthe barrel 85. The slot MI is of sufiicient width to receive the ballbut does not permit circumferential movement of the ball about the axisof the dial. The

slot IN is elongated as shown in Fig. 5 so that the rotary movement ofthe barrel is normally prevented while axial movementis permitted.

When in this position the push button may be operated to cause inwardmovement of the releasing arm 53 to thereby rock the bell crank member52 to cause the end 49 thereof to move the release member to release thebolt, or the key 8 8 may be inserted and the lock barrel may be rotated,thus turning the head member -89 clockwise or counterclockwise andcausing the inner end of the member 53 torotate about the axis of thelock barrel to thus cause the locking arm 36 to be raised or lowered.

The lock barrel is keyed by the clutch ball I00 to the sleeve 63 so thatrelative rotation between the lock barrel and the sleeve is prevented.

With the construction heretofore described, a 3

person without a key could not rotate the lock barrel and operatingmember 53 to move the carriage member to unlocked position. Thefollowing mechanism provides for this unlocking without use of a key.

The dial member 61 has an arcuate, elongated recess I03 which, after thetumblers have been aligned and the dial head 61 pushed inwardly, willbecome aligned with theclutch ball to permit the clutch ball to movefrom the semi-spherical recess I02 into the arcuate recess I 03. In thisposition there may be limited rotary movement between the sleeve 68 andthe lock barrel 86. The slot I03 being circumferentially elongated, oncethe ball I02 enters the slot I03 there may be limited rotary motion ofthedial head 61.

-When the dial head is pushed in after it has been correctly aligned, aslot I05 on the dial head will be engaged by a key I06 on the pushmember 81 so that thereafter when the dial is rotated the push memberand lock barrel will be rotated and rotation of the push member willgive this member the same motion as when rotated by a key so that thepush member may rotate the arm 53 to operate the carriage member 36 fromlocked to unlocked position or vice versa.

In order to prevent a vehicle operator from looking himself out of thevehicle through inadvertently closing the door when the locking member36 is in locked position, the catch member 20 is provided with arestoring pin I I0 which is disposed adjacent to, and is adapted toengage, the lower edge I I l of the catch releasing member 35. The pin II0 is disposed at one side of the axis of the pivot 31 and theconstruction is such that when the catch member 20 is rocked by thespring 26 as the door is closed, the pin I I0 will shift with the catchmember 20. Thus when the carriage member 36 is in locked position andthe member 20 is rocked in the act of closing the door, the pin I II)will move upwardly slightly and will engage the edge III of the latchreleasing member 35 and will rock the member 35 upwardly.

, The member 35 is carried on the carriage member 36 and the arrangementof par-ts is such that the carriage member 36 will be moved to unlockedposition, where it will be held by the spring 36". Thus the likelihoodof any operator locking himself out of the vehicle due to thoughtlessclosing of the. door when the latch is locked will be prevented.

However, should the operator desire to lock the vehicle door without theuse of a key, he may operate a push rod I I 2 on a door, moving thecarriage member 36 on that door to locked position whereupon theoperatorwill press the push button 8! on. the same door and in doing this willmove the latch releasing member 35 so that the pin III] will be movedfrom the'edge I I I and will be aligned with a slot II3 inthe latchreleasing member 36. Thus when the door is closed and the catchmember 20moves the pin IIO will pass into theslot I I3 and will not engage theedge I I I and therefore the carriage member 36 will remain locked.

Thus by dual manipulationthat is by pushing on the push member 8'! andat the same time closing the door when the carriage member 36 is inlooking position, the operator will cause the parts to remain locked.Further, as hereinafter I explained, due to a coincidental lockingsystem to be later described, this dual act will also cause all of theother doors besides the one door being closed to be locked regardless ofwhether the other doors were in locked or unlocked position when the onedoor was closed;

The latches described abovemay be used individually as single latches.They may also be used with a coincidental locking device and/or with avehicle speed control for releasing the latches, as will be laterdescribed.

For coincidental locking the rollers 38" on the lock members 34 ofadjacent door latches are adapted to move into substantially U-shapedwings I 20 (see Fig. 1), mounted at the two ends of a locking bar I2Iwhich has a lever H22 con nected thereto. The bar I2I includesarms I23which are pivoted as atI 24 to uprights I25 struck from a base I26 of aspeed control and look assembly I26. The uprights I 25 are supported bybraces I25 bent up from the base I26. This assembly also includesaverticalportion I 21 which supports the barrel I 28 of a key operatedlock, the operatingdetails of which form no part of the presentinvention. The lock I28 includes a projecting cylindrical member I29which has a crank I36 mounted thereon and the crank I36 includes a crankpin I3I which fits in the slot I36 in the looking bar I2 I.

The lock is adapted to be turnedby a suitable key from a neutralposition in either direction. This turning of the lock moves the crankI36 from an upper position to a lower position, and vice versa, and inso doingthe pin I3I moving in the slot I32 in the locking bar iZI raisesand lowers the bar HI and thus raises and lowers the Wings I26.

The lever I22 on one side of the vehicle is connected by a Bowden wireI33 with a similar lever I22 on the other side of the vehicle, with theBowden wire preferably passing beneath the vehicle body. TheBowden wiresare so connected to the levers that when the lever on one side isdepressed or raised the leveron the other side of the vehicle will bealso depressed or raised.

The speed control and lock assembly may be suitably secured on thevehicle body in a position wherein the wings I26 are disposed to receivethe rollers 38" when each door is closed. A snapover spring E35 holdsthe bar I2I and Wings I26 in either up or down position after they havebeen moved to such position. Stops 36 limit the movement of the bar I2I.

When two adjacent doors are closed and the rollers 33" are in the wingsI26 with the locking barI2I in the position shown in Fig. 11, thecarriage members 3% will be in a position to cause the associatedlatches to be unlocked. When, under this condition, a key is inserted inthe lock I26 and the lock I26 is moved to locked position, that is, thelock is moved so that the pin It! is lowered and the locking bar i2i ismoved downwardly, the wings I2t will move downwardly and thus will movethe rollers I38" and will move the associated carriage members 36downwardly so that the latter will be in locked position.

The slot I32 is of a shape to permit the pin I3I to move up and downtherein. The lock I28 is preferably of the well known character whereina key must be turned to a normal intermediate position-before the keycan be removed. When the pin is in this normal position and the wingsI26 are in unlocked position the pin will be adjacent to the lower faceof the slot I32 and when the wings I26 are in the reverse position thepin will be adjacent to the upper edge of the slot. This allows thewings I26 to be moved to locked and to unlocked position by the leverI22 independent of the position of the pin I3 I.

As the wings I26 move about the pivot I24 from locked to unlockedposition, there is a slight forward and backward movement of the wingsrelative to the face I2'I. The wing support, however, is slightlyflexible and loosely fitted together so that this slight movement of thewings I2!) does not cause a binding action due to the rollers 38"pressing against the wings.

When any key 88 of a latch is turned from locked to unlocked position orvice-versa, the

- releasing arm will be rocked about the axis of the push member 81 andwill be swung upwardly or downwardly. The member 53 must be in normalintermediate position when the key is removed and when in this positionthe releasing arm 53 will fit in the slot 46 as shown in Fig. 3 when thedevice is unlocked. The slot 46 is shaped to permit the releasing arm tofit therein in reverse position when the latch is locked.

By rotating the key 62 or by correctly positioning the tumblers andpushing in on and rotating the dial head 61, it will be seen that thereleasing arm 53 will be rocked about its axis (which coincides with theaxis of the pushmember 81) and will raise the locking member 36 upwardlyor downwardly, depending upon the direction of movement of the releasingarm. This upward or downward movement of the releasing arm will causesimilar movement of the members 35 and 36 and will likewise shift therollers 36" upwardly or downwardly and thereby shift the wings I26 in asimilar direction and manner.

Thus it will be apparent that all the latches on closed doors can becoincidentally locked or unlocked either by operating the key in thelock member I28 or by operating the key 88 in any one door handle or byoperating the keyless dial head 51, and that all the latches may belocked by pushing down any locking member H2 or by rocking the leverI22.

Each speed control and lock assembly I26 vertical portion I2l has atongue I46 extending at right angles thereto and this tongue includes adownwardly bent end I4I which carries a pivot pin E42 which supports adownwardly depending, generally U-shaped spring I43. The spring includesa pair of opposed vertical portions I44 from which opposed inclined tabsI43 extend. The spring includes downwardly converging portions I45 whichterminate in short vertical tongues I46 which normally are slightlyspaced apart by the resiliency of the spring material. A solenoid I 41on the base I26 has an armature E48 which has a rounded end I49 which,when the solenoid is energized, moves between the tongues I46.

To energize the solenoid I48 one lead I56 therefrom is shown as passingto a contact I5I on an arcuate circuit closer I52. The other lead I53extends through a source of current I54 to the needle I55 of a vehicledriven speedometer I56 and the construction is such that when thespeedometer needle I55 is moved when the the vehicle goes into motionthis needle will close the circuit from the lead I50 to I53 and thuswill energize the solenoid and cause the armature to move upwardlyagainst the tension of a spring (not shown). When the vehicle speeddecreases to a predetermined rate, the solenoid will be deenergized andthe armature I46 will move from between the tongues I46 of the springI43. The spring I43 is of such character that normally the verticalportion I44 may be moved inwardly easily when the solenoid is notenergized.

The latch releasing member extensions previously mentioned are in thenature of speed controlled feelers and each of these extensions has itsfree end adjacent to the vertical portion I44 of the spring. Thus whenthe latch releasing member starts its movement towards latch releasingposition the associated extension 4I will engage the spring portion I44(see Fig. 8) When the solenoid is not energized the spring will bendeasily and thus there will be no resistance to the operation of thelatch releasing member. When, however, the solenoid is energized and thesolenoid armature I48 is between the tonguesI46, the spring can beflexed only under great force and at this time will require greatpressure to move the latch releasing member to latch releasing position.

Thus it will be seen that when the vehicle is at rest the latches may bereleased from within or from without the vehicle to open the doors withonly a light finger tip pressure. However, when 9 the vehicle is movingabove a predetermined rate of speed the latch releasing members can onlybe operated with difficulty. Thus accidental door opening is preventedwhile at thesame time the fear of riders who object to riding in avehicle the doors of which are locked against opening is overcome.

The speed controlled and coincidental locking mechanism is like thatdescribed in the applicants prior application Serial No. 103,431,mentioned above.

To open the doors from without pressure on the push member 54 will rockthe releasing arm and will cause the associated latch releasing memberto be moved by the arm 49 to releasing position. If the lockingmechanism is in locked condition, movement of the arm 49 will merelycause the latch releasing member to move idly since in that position thepin 34 will move into the notch 40'.

- In closing the door when all of the latches are unlocked and thecarriage member 36 is in unlocked position with the parts as shown inFig. 2; the operator merely closes the door and the parts remain in theconditionshown in Fig. 2. When in this condition, from within thevehicle, all doors may be locked by pushing on any one push rod I I2 orby rocking the lever I22 to locked position. From without the vehicleall doors may be locked by operatingthe key 68 or the key for the lockI28 to locked position. All doors may be unlocked when they are lockedby reversal onthe operations just described.

In operation-and assuming that all doors are closed and that the vehicleis at rest-the oper ator may turn any remote control handle 29,thuscausing the rod 3| to rock the catch member 20 and thus free theassociated bolt; When the bolt is freed, opening of the door causes theroller I5 to move along the groove I6 and then to pass from this groove.

If the vehicle is at rest when the above operation takes place, theextension M on the latch release member will engage the associatedvertical portion I04 of the spring and will push that portion withoutdifiiculty.

When the vehicle is running and the solenoid armature I40 is disposedbetween the tongues I46 the force required to move the portion I44 ofthe associated spring will be such that the operator 29 can be actuatedonly with great difiiculty. Thus accidental opening of the door isprevented.

Full movement of the actuating member 53 by the push button will notmove the pin 34 enough to engage the rear wall of the slot 40 so that nounlocking occurs. However, when theoperator 29 is turned it will movethe member 33 far enough to shift the pin 34 against the rear wall ofthe slot 40 and thus rock the member 20 and release the latch.

The above described operation of opening any door from Within byoperating the remote control handle 29 applies regardless of whether ornot the latches are in locked or unlocked condition.

Assuming now that certain of the doors are closed and that the lockingmechanism for the closed doors is in locked condition: If the operatornow closes another door, the carriage member 36 of which is in unlockedcondition, this will cause the roller 38 on the one door to move itsassociated wing I20, thus causing all of the wings to move to unlockedposition.

This is done by the roller 38" camming against the adjacent portion ofthe wing I 20. This occurs whilethe catch member 20 is being rocked bythe 10 pin 24 passing from notch 22 to notch 23 and to edge 25 so thatthe pin holds the carriage member 36 in the position shown in Fig. 3 andthus overcomes the tension of the springs 36 and I35 which tend to holdthe doors previously locked in that condition.

Assuming now that certain of the doors are closed and that the lockingmechanism for the closed doors is in unlocked condition and that theoperator wishes to cause all of the doors to be locked: The operatorwill press down on the push rod II2 on the door which is being closed,this will place the carriage member 36 of the door being closed inlocked condition. The operator will thereupon press the push member 87inwardly and will at the same time close the door. In this positionmovement of the catch member 29, by its engagement with the pin 24 onthe bolt, will take place with the pin IIO on the catch member passinginto the slot H3 and the pin 34 will be disposed in the notch 40'. Inthis condition the roler 38 will enter its associated wing I20. The pin34 will then engage the lower edge of the notch 40, thus preventing thecarriage member 36 from shifting to unlocking position, and the roller38" will thus pass into its associated wing and will pull this wing fromunlocked condition to locked condition and will cause all of the otherwings to move to locked condition.

When any door is closed with the push member 8? moved inwardly as in theoperation described in the preceding paragraph, the extension i-I willbe advanced and as the door closes will strike an inclined tab I43 onthe spring I43 and as it moves along the tab will push the portion I44of the spring inwardly so that the parts assume the position shown inFig. 3. The spring will offer no substantial resistance to this movementwhen the vehicle is at rest but should a door be closed while a vehicleis in motion so that the solenoid armature end is between the ends I46of the spring, an added force must 'be applied to the door to close thesame.

Assuming now that certain of the doors are closed and are unlocked and.that the operator closes one door which, unknown to him, has been placedin locked position, then in this circumstance when the operator closesthis one door without pressing on the associated push member $37, theone door will become unlocked and the others will remain unlocked.

In Fig. 13 a modification is shown. In this fig- .ure parts similar tothose previously described are designated by primed reference numerals.

In the modification the slot I05 on the dial head and the key I06 on thepush member 87 have been omitted. Otherwise there are no changes. Inoperating the modification the dial is rotated to correctly align thetumblers and thereafter the dial is pushed inwardly to cause the ballI00 to be aligned with the recess I03. The push button 8'! is then freeto turn and as it turns it will swing the head member 89 thus causingthe actuating member to move to unlocking position.

It will be understood that under certain installations the lock I28 onthe pillars may be omitted and only the key operated locks may beemployed. Also, under other conditions, it may be desirable toomitthelocks operated by the key 88 and make the members 54 merely push membersand depend only on the locks I28 as the key operated members.

From the foregoing description it will be apparentthat the presentdisclosure relates to a novel latch construction which, if desired, mayinclude coincidental locking mechanism and/or safety release controlsand wherein the parts act in effective manner to perform their intendedfunctions.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a vehicle door. latch assembly which includes a bolt, a lockingmember for the bolt, and an actuating member for moving the lockingmember to unlocked position, a fixed support, a lock barrel movablymounted to rotate and to reciprocate on the support, clutch meansnormally holding the lock barrel against rotation relative to thesupport while permitting reciprocation thereof, and tumbler controlledmeans to free the clutch means and to permit rotation of the lockbarrel, the actuating member being mounted on the lock barrel andmovable axially to free the bolt, said actuating member being moved whenthe lock barrel is rotated to move the locking member to unlockedposition.

2. In a vehicle door latch assembly which includes a bolt, a lockingmember for the bolt, and an actuating member for moving the lockingmember to unlocked position, a fixed support, a push button lock barrelmovably mounted to rotate and to reciprocate on the support, means tonormally hold the lock barrel against rotation relative to the supportwhile permitting reciprocation thereof, said actuating member beingmounted on the lock barrel and movable axially to free the bolt when thelatch is unlocked, said actuating member being movable when the lockbarrel is rotated and adapted to move the looking memberto unlockedposition, and tumbler controlled means operable to free the holdingmeans and to permit rotation of the lock barrel and actuating member.

3. In a vehicle door latch assembly which includes a bolt, a lockingmember for the bolt, and an actuating member for moving the lockingmember to unlocked position, a fixed support, a lock barrel rotatable onthe support, means to normally hold the lock barrel against rotationrelative to the support, a head member within the lock barrel, keycontrolled means for normally preventing relative rotation between thehead member and lock barrel, the insertion of a key in the head memberpermitting rotation of the head member relative to the lock barrel,

tumbler controlled means to free the holding means to permit rotation ofthe head member and lock barrel as a unit, and a lock actuating membercarried by the head member and movable when the head member is rotatedand adapted to move a locking member to unlocked position.

l. In a vehicle door lock, a fixed support, a bolt, a push button lockbarrel movably mounted to rotate and to reciprocate on the support,means to normally hold the lock barrel against rotation relative to thesupport while permitting reciprocation thereof, a head member within thelock barrel, key controlled means for normally preventing relativerotation between the head member and lock barrel, the insertion of a keyin the head member permitting rotation of the head member relative tothe lock barrel, tumbler controlled means to free the holding means topermit rotation of the head member and lock barrel as a unit, and anactuating member carried by the head member and movable axially to freethe bolt when the lock is unlocked and rotatably movable when the headmember is rotated l2 and adapted to move a locking member to unlockedposition.

5. In a door handle assembly, a body having a chamber therein and havinga bore communicating with the chamber, a cylindrical dial body rotatablein said bore, a dial head carried by .said body, gated tumblersrotatable in said body,

said dial head projecting beyond the bore for engagement with the fingerof an operator to permit rotation of said tumblers, means permittinginward movement of the dial head when the tumblers are correctlypositioned, a sleeve fixed within said chamber and disposed within saiddial body, a lock barrel slidable in and rotatable in said sleeve, saiddial head having a bore therein, said lock barrel including a pushbutton extending through said bore, a head member rotatably mounted insaid lock barrel, clutch means normally preventing relative rotationbetween the lock barrel and sleeve, key released means normallypreventing rotation of the head member in the lock barrel, an actuatingmember carried by the head member, said clutch means being operable tofree the lock barrel from the sleeve when the dial body is pushedinwardly.

6. In a door handle assembly, a body having a chamber therein and havinga bore communicating with the chamber, a cylindrical dial body rotatablein said bore, a dial head carried by said body, gated tumblers rotatablein said body, said tumblers having pins thereon, a fixed closure forsaid chamber, said dial head projecting beyond the bore for engagementwith the finger of an operator to permit rotation of said tumblers,means permitting inward movement of the dial head when the tumblers arecorrectly positioned, a sleeve carried by said closure and disposedwithin said dial body, a lock barrel slidable in and rotatable in saidsleeve, means normally urging said lock barrel outward- 1y, said dialhead having a bore therein, said lock barrel including a push buttonextending through said bore, a head member rotatably mounted in saidlock barrel, clutch means normally preventing relative rotation betweenthe lock barrel and sleeve, key released means normally preventingrotation of the head member in the lock barrel, an actuating membercarried by the head member, means to free the lock barrel from thesleeve when the dial body is pushed inwardly, and means clutching thedial body to the lock barrel when the dial body is pushed inwardly.

'7. In an automotive vehicle door latch, a base plate, a bolt movable onthe base plate to e'n-' gaged and released positions, means holding thebolt in engaged position, means to release the bolt holding means, saidrelease means including a pivoted carriage, a reciprocatingly mountedcontrol member on the carriage, means to releasably hold the carriage ineach of the two positions, means to release the bolt when the controlmember is moved in one direction while the carriage is turned to oneposition about its pivot, the last means being inefiective to releasethe bolt when the control member is similarly moved while the carriageis turned to the other position about its pivot, a lock support, meansto normally hold the support against rotation, a lock barrel rotatablein the support, means to normally hold the lock barrel on the supportagainst rotation relative thereto, a head member within the lock barrel,key controlled means for normally preventing relative rotation betweenthe head member and lock barrel, the insertion of a key in the headmember permitting rotation of the head member relative to the lookbarrel, gated tumbler controlled means to free the holding means topermit rotation of the head member and lock barrel as a unit, and a lockactuating member carried by the head member and movable when the headmember is rotated for moving the carriage to unlocked po sition.

8. In a door handle assembly, a body having a chamber therein and havinga bore communieating with the chamber, a cylindrical dial body rotatablein said bore, a dial head carried by said dial body, tumblers rotatableon said dial body, means whereby the dial body rotates the tumblers, afixed closure for said chamber, each tumbler having a notch in itsperiphery, said dial body having spaced tongues disposed to enter saidnotches when the tumblers are correctly positioned, said dial headprojecting beyond the bore for engagement with the finger of an operatorto permit rotation of said dial body, a sleeve within said dial body,means to prevent rotation of the sleeve, a lock barrel slidable withinsaid sleeve, means normally urging said lock barrel outwardly in thesleeve, means to limit the outward movement of the lock barrel, saiddial head having a bore therein, said lock barrel including a pushbutton extending through said dial head bore, a head member rotatable insaid lock barrel, means normally preventing rotation of said head memberin said lock barrel, means normally preventing rotation of said lockbarrel in said sleeve, key means operable to permit rotation of saidhead member in the lock barrel While the barrel remains stationary, saidhead member having an actuating member thereon extending through saidclosure and being adapted to engage a looking arm, and means to free thepreventing means and permit rotation of the lock barrel in the sleevewhen the dial tumblers are codified.

9. In a vehicle door handle assembly for a latch which includes a bolt,a locking member for the bolt, and an actuating member for moving thelocking member to unlocked position, said handle assembly including abody having a chamber therein and having a bore communicating with thechamber, a lock barrel mounted to rotate and to reciprocate in thechamber, means to normally hold the lock barrel against rotationrelative to thebody while permitting reciprocation thereof, said lockbarrel being operable to free the bolt when the lock barrel is movedaxially while the locking member is in unlocked position, said actuatingmember being movable upon rotary movement of the lock barrel and adaptedto move the locking member to unlocked position, and tumbler controlledmeans operable when the tumbler controlled means is correctly positionedto free the holding means which normally holds the lock barrel againstrotation relative to the body and to permit rotary movement of the lockbarrel and movement of the actuating member to move the locking memberto unlocked position.

10. In a vehicle door latch assembly which includes a bolt, a lockingmember for the bolt, and an actuating member for moving the lockingmember to unlocked position, said assembly including a body having achamber therein and having a bore communicating with the chamber, a lookbarrel mounted to rotate and to reciprocate in the chamber, means tonormally hold the lock barrel against rotation relative to the body,said lock barrel being operable to free the bolt when the lock barrel ismoved axially while the locking member is in unlocked position, saidactuating member being movable when the lock barrel is rotated andadapted to move the locking member to unlocked position, and tumblercontrolled means operable to free the holding means and to permitrotation of the lock barrel and actuating member.

11. In a vehicle door latch assembly which includes a bolt, a lockingmember for the bolt, and

an actuating member for moving the locking member to unlocked position,a lock barrel mounted to rotate and to reciprocate, means normallyholding the lock barrel against rotation While permitting reciprocationthereof, the lock barrel being operable to free the bolt when it isreciprocated while the locking member is in unlocked position andtumbler controlled means operable to free the holding means and topermit rotation of the lock barrel, said actuating member beingrotatable when the lock barrel is rotated to move the locking member tounlocked position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,362,417 Hammer Dec. 14, 1920 1,619,676 Meilink Mar. 1, 19271,885,425 Fitzgerald NOV. 1, 1932 2,202,833 Jones June 4, 1940 2,235,830Dodge Mar. 25, 1941 2,251,145 Machinist July 29, 1941 2,289,129 LalondeJuly 7, 1942 2,314,815 Brandt Mar. 23, 1943 2,481,099 Formo Sept. 6,1949

